Last-pulling machine



Oct. 11, 1932. s. A. MINER LAST- PULLING mcnnm Filed Aug. 24, 1931 .tively to the last.

Patented Oct. 11, 1932 enoas n a. Minna, or Maureen,

MAssAcnUsErTs; rissrenoa. ro unrrnn sHoE MA Err-mar ooeror e'rron, or rare-neon, New JERSEY, A coerce-Arron or new JERSEY LAST-PULLING ACHI E v Application filed August 24, 1931. s mi to. 559,020. i i

This invention relates to machines for ef' footing relative movement between shoes and their lasts and is herein Illustrated as em bodied in a machine of the type dlsclosed 1n United States Letters Patent No. 1,820,952,

granted September 1, 1931, upon the application of John M. Whelton' and Arthur F. Relative movement between ashoeand ltS; last is ordinarily effected by engaging the shoe frictionally'with an operating member while effecting relative movement between the last on one hand and the operating mem-. her and shoe on the other hand. In the machine disclosed in the above-mentioned Letters Patent, the operating member consists of a driven roll the outer portion'ot which is composed of rubber; and the lastis mounted upon a last pin which is'supp-orted for movement to bring the counter portion of the shoe into engagement with the roll. fThe last pin thus serves to hold the last stationary while the roll, by frictional engagement with the counter portion of the shoe, raises the counter portion of the shoe oifthe last.

It is an object of the present invention to provide for protecting the operating memher from wear and at the same time to improve its effective frictional engagement with the shoe. v V

In accordance with this object, a feature of the invention resides in the provision oi,

an intermediate member in the, form oi a piece of flexiblo sheet material which is positioned adjacent to the operating member and which is normally stationary in the sense that it does not move continuously with the operating member, the intermediate member constructed and arranged, when being pressed against the operating member by a shoe on a last, to partake or" the movement of the operating member, and by frictional engagement with the shoe to move the shoe rela- In the illustrated machine the sheet material is rubber. When, as in the case of the illustrated machine, the operating member is aroll, the piece of sheet material may conveniently be made by cutting-a short section from an inner tube of a pneumatic by transferringjthe color of also be made convenientl I rial ofan inner tube;

tire to form roll.

I Marring'or soiling of the shoe ispr've'nted and the operating memberflt begins to move with the operatmg'member and thus moves. the shoe, continuing to engage the shoe with static friction and without rubbing the shoe.

The requisite tractive force between the shoe 7 and the shoe-engaging member can be developed with'considerably less pressure than would be the case if the shoe were to be presented toa surface already in motion, and with a consequent saving of effort on the part of the operator. Because of the com paratively light pressure between the shoe and the shoe-engaging'member and because ofthe elimination of rubbing action upon the shoe, there is practically no tendency of the shoe-engaging member to mar the surface of the shoe o'r -to soil the shoe, as, for'example, one set of shoes to shoes of a difierent color.

When, as in one. illustrated form of the invention, an endless belt is employed as an ina belt loosely surrounding the permit the beltwh-en pressed between the roll V and the shoe to'partake of the movementof the'roll. Instead of an endless belt the'intermediate member may assume the formof a depending apron suspended'irom a point above the level'of the roll and interposed between the shoe and the. roll. Such an apron may y fIOIIl the mate Shoe-engaging members of the character above describedare cheap and easy to obtain, and they function a'sshields to protect the surface of a moree-expensiveroll from further protection against marring orsoiling the shoe. The'intermediate member, being relatively thin, may advantageously be composed of tougher material than the roll.

7 These and other features of the invention" including certain details of construction and lasts;

combinations of parts will be set forth in connection with the illustrative machine and 1 will be pointed out in the appended claims.

Referring now to the accompanying drawing 3 r Fig. 1 is a sectional view inside elevation of a machine for separating shoes from their ,Fig, .2- is a view in frontelevation of the 2 intermediate member of themachine shown inFig. 1; and

Fig. 3 isa sectional viewin side elevation of the upper portion. of the-machine show d'if f "f t md; t mg a 1 erent 0mm 0 m erme m 6 member bracket in the form of a shelf 72. The for than that illustrated iii-Figs. 1 and 2.

The frame 10 of the machine is hollow and has an upper compartment which houses the shoe-engaging instrumentality- This uppercompartment is separated from the remaining portion of the interior of the frame 10 by a partition 12 beneath. which is housed most of the driving and actuating mechanism. Journaled in the, upper compartment of the frame 10 is a shaft 14 which carries a roll 16, the outer portion of which is composed of rubber. The roll 16 is driven in a clockwise direction, as viewed inFigs. 1 and 2. by gearing 18, a vertical shaft 20, gearing 22, a horizontal shaft 24, i and gearing 26, from a motor 28: supported upon abracket 30 in the lower interior portion of the frame 10.

.A last lack in the form of a lever 32 is fulcrumed upon trunnion pins 34 forvmovement toward and away from the roll 16". 'The trunnion pins 34 areicarried upon a sleeve which is adjus'tably secured upon a sleeve 38 journaled upon 'a 'pin "40 secured in the front wall of the frame 10. At its upper end the-lever .32 carries a lastv pin-42 which can be adjusted for up or down movement my means of a rack and pinion 44E controlled by a knurled head 46. Integral with the le ver 82 and extending into the interior.- of the frame 10' through an: opening in the front wall-thereof is'an arm 48'.

A link 50 is connected at one end with the arm. 48 and at the other end "with, a lever" 52 with provision for universal movement at each of these connections. The lever 52 is pivotallymounted upon a pin 54 supported by the frame 10 and within the-interior thereof. A rod 56 connects tnejlever 52 with atreadle 58 fulcrumed upon a pin 60 at the base of the frame 10. A. springv 62 normally holds the treadle '58 in its upper position. Depression of the treadle 58 exerts a downward pull upon the rod 56, swin ging' the lever 52 in a counterclockwise direction, viewed in Fig. 1, and depression of the link 50 thus swings the'lever 32 in a clockwise direction towardthe roll 16.. A block '64 secured upon 7 "the rod 56engagesa mechanism 66 for rotating an eccentric pin 68 which extends through a' slot 70' in the lever 32. The'mechanism 66 and the pin 68 serve to impart. a slight movement to the lever 32 in a direction lengthwise of the roll 16 for each actuation of the treadle 58, thereby varying the posi-' tion of presentation of a shoe ona last mountedupon the last pin 42 and distributing the wear over the surface of the shoe-engaging member- .The illustrated machine, as so far described, is identical with the machine dis- Mounted upon the top of the frame 10 is a ward portion ofthe shelf, 72 islprovided with a pair of hook-shaped lugs 74: which hook under the upper forwardedge of the frame 10- above the roll 16. Dependin'g from the rear portion of the shelf. 72 is, a support-{ ing lug 76 which rests upon the sloping rear surface of the frame 10. Anopening78 is at which the lug 7 6 rests upon the rear wall.

A bearing member 80 is provided in the form of a'crossb-ar 82 having a rearward extension 84 and a pair of downwardly extending cars 86. The bearing member 80 is positioned with the cross bar 82 and the cars 86 with-in the upper compartment of the frame 10, with the arm 84 extendingout through the opening 7 8 thereof. The bearing member 80' is not'secured directly'to any portion of the frame 10bu-t the'ears 86 bear against the upper surface'of the partition 12 and the arm 84 bears against the upper edge of the opening 78. A hook88- is pivotally mountedin the outer extremity of the arm 84, its free 9 end 90 engaging an opening 92 in the bracket 76. 1. A turnbuckle 94 is provided for varying the length of thehook 88' and when tightened serves tohold the bearing member 80 in the position above described, while at the Sametime securing the shelf 72 rigidly to the frame 10. A pair of pins 96 which are coaxial with each other extend inwardly from the ears 86 respectively for a purpose I log which will presentlyappear. Secured in the lugs 74. above the level of the roll 16 is rod 98 about which travels an intermediate member i-nythe form of a belt 100 which, in the illustrated machine, is composed of rub-' her and may conveniently be made from an inner tube of a-pneumatic tire. The belt 100 surrounds the rll 16, and its total length is considerably greater than: the, circumfer- J ence of the roll 16. A tubular rod 102 is journaledat its ends upon the pins 96 respectively.

The belt 100 passes around the rod 102 as. well as around therod 98 and the roll .16., The rod 98 supports the major portion ofthe weight otthe-beltl'OO in the vicinity of the roll 16., Before tightening the turnbuckle 94 thebearin member is movedinwardl or outwardly to a position whereat most or" the slack of the belt is taken up by the tubularrod 102, leaving the belt 100 suiticiently loose, however, to avoiddriving engagement with the roll '16. While the belt 100 in'both itsupper and lower run touches the roll 16, it does not, therefore, rest upon the roll 16 with suflicie it of the roll 16 and thereby move the shoe S relatively 'to the last L. The belt is thus moved progressively so that every portion of its length is utilized. In the illustrated machine the counter portion of the shoe S is caused to approach the roll 16, and t 1e direction of movement of the roll 16 is such as to raise the counter portlon of the shoe .fti oil the last L. The inclination of the last pin 42, asshown in Fig.1, servesto-prevent thelast- L from being drawn oil the last pm.

In order to preventchalk from the lasts from accumulating upon the belt 100 and impairing its frictional properties, there 1s provided a rotary brush 110, driven by a belt 112 from the shaft 14. The brush is rotated in the same directionas the roll 16 so that it will resist any tendency of the roll 16 normally to drive the belt 100. The brush 110 thus functions not only as a cleaning member but also as a brake.

intermediate member consisting of an apron 104:. In the illustrated machine the apron 104; may conveniently be made from ashort length of inner tubin merely by splitting the tubing. The upper edge of the apron 104: is secured by screws 106 to clamps 108 respectively, the clamps 108 being attached to the shelf 72. The operation of the apron 10a is similar to that of the belt 100 except that instead of moving progressively the apron 104 is raised at each operation and upon retraction of the. last-holding lever 32 is allowed to fall back into its initial position by gravity. Springs or weights may be attached to the lower edge-0f the apron 104: to insure a more rapid return of the apron to its initial position. An apron such as apron 1045 may, if desired, be used in combination with a belt such as belt'100.

Having described my invention, what I claim as new and desire to secure .by Letters Patent of the United States is l -1. A machine for effecting relative movementbetween a shoe and a last, comprising an operating member, means for moving said operating member, and a normallystationary piece of flexible sheet material positioned adjacent to said opera-ting. member and constructed and arranged, when pressed between said operating member'and ashoe on a last, to partake of the movement ofsaid operating member and by frictional engagement with the shoe to move the shoe relatively to the 7 last.

2. Aniachine for elfec'ting relative move mentbetween a shoe and a last, comprising a support for the last, a driven membensaid support and said driven member being constructed and arranged for relative movement of approach with respect to each other, and

a normally stationary member interposed be tween a shoe on the last and said driven member, said normally stationary member being constructed and arranged, when pressed be tween the shoe and the driven member, to partake of themovement of the driven membeer and by frictional engagementwith the shoe to move the shoe relatively to the last.

3. A machine for effecting relative movement between a shoe and a last comprising, a support for a last, a-drlven roll, said support and said roll being constructed and arranged for relative movement of approach-with respect to each other, and a normally stationary l piece of flexible sheet material interposed between a shoe on the last and said driven mem her, said piece of sheet material being constructed and arranged, when pressed between the shoe and the roll, to partake of the movement of the roll and by frictional'engagem-ent with the shoe to move the shoe relatively to the last.

4. A machine for efi'ecting relative move-' l ment between a shoe and a last, comprising In F 1g; 3 is shown an alternative form of a driven member, a last pin mounted for movement toward said driven member, and a driven member, to

shoe to move the shoe relatively to the-"last,

'portingisaid pieceiof sheet .material inde- Ainachine for effecting relative movemen't between a shoe and'a last, compri sing a driven roll, a last pin mounted for movement to cause a shoeon a last supported by thelast pin to approach saidroll, and a normally stationary piece of flexible sheet material interposed" between said roll andthe shoe, said' piece of sheet material being constructed and arranged, when pressed by the shoe against said roll, to partake of the movement ofsaid rollandby frictional engagement with the shoe to move the shoe relatively to the last.

6. A machinefor effecting relative movei ment between a shoe and a last, comprising support for o a last,

a driven roll, a said support and said roll being constructed and arranged for relative movement of approach with respect to each other, a piece of flexible sheet material, and means for suppcndentlyt'of-Lsaid roll with said piece of sheet material interposed betweensaid roll and a shoe on the last on said last support, whereby said piece of sheet material, when'pressed between the shoe and the roll, will partake of the movementof the roll and by frictional engagement with the shoe will-move the shoe relatively to thelast. J H

7. A machine for efiecting relative'move-v ment between a shoe and a last, comprising a-- driven roll, a support for a last, said support and roll being constructed and arranged for relative movement of approach with respect to each other,-a piece offlexib'le sheet material, and means positionedabove thelevel of said roll for suspending said piece of sheet material between said roll and a shoe on the last on said last support, said piece of. sheet material, gwhen pressed between the shoe and the roll, partaking of the movement of the roll and by frictional engagementwith the shoe moving the shoe relatively to thel'ast, V k

' 8. A'machine for effecting relative move-V m-ent between a shoe and a last, comprising adriven roll,,a support for a last, said support and said roll being constructed and arranged for relative movement of approach with respect to each other, an-endless belt of flexible sheet material loosely surrounding said roll, and a support for said belt posi tioned above said roll for holding said belt normally out of driving engagement with said roll, said belt support being constructed and arranged to permit said belt, when said belt is pressed between said roll and a shoe on the last on said last support, to partake of the movement of said roll'and by frictional engagement with the shoe to move the shoe relatively to the last.

"9'. A machine foreifecting' relative move-- ment between a shoe and a last, comprising a-driven roll, a support for a l'ast, said sup= port andtsaid' roll beingconstrueted and ari -gssaosa ranged for relative movement ofapproach with respect to each other, an endless beltof flexible sheet material loosely surrounding the roll and adapted, when pressed between the roll and a shoe on the last on said last support, to partake ofthe movementof; said roll and by frictional engagement wlth the shoe tomove the shoerelativelyto the{ last',and 'a belt-cleaning member constructed and arranged to exert a braking action'upon the belt to prevent the belt from being-driven shoe'and the roll. i 7 I V 10. A machine for effecting relative move ment between a shoe and a last, comprising a driven roll; a'support fora last, said supby the roll except when pressed between-a port and saidroll being constructed and'ar ranged for relatir e movement of approach ment between a shoe and a last, comprising asupport for a last,'a driven member, means for effecting relative approach" between said last support and said driven member, and a' normally stationary sheet of rubber interposed between said driven member and a shoe on a last on saidlast support, said rubber sheetbeing constructed and arranged, when pressed: between the shoe and the driven member, to partake of the movement of the driven member and by frictional engagement with, the shoe to move the shoe relatively-to the last. 1 g

12. A, machine for separating shoes and lasts, comprising a support for a last, a drivenroll, a normally'stationary piece of 'flexible sheet material interposed between said last support and said roll, and means for causing relative movement between said last support and said roll to effect engagement between said piece of sheet material and the its counter portion of a shoe on the last on said support, whereupon the piece of sheet material will be pressed between theishoe and" the roll and will partake of the movement of the roll andby. frictional engagement with the counter portion of the shoe will raise the counterportion of the shoe relatively to'tl' e last.-

In testimony whereof. I name to this specification. 7

GEORGE A;

have slgned my 

